attention is not the new currency. this is more valuable:

2 years ago, I was the definition of a down bad, average joe.

Author

Taylin John Simmonds
June 04, 2024

The Simmonds Signal

Modern monetization strategies school can’t teach you.

Magnetic writing → Micro brand → micro business

Attention is NOT the new currency. This is more valuable:

2 years ago, I was the definition of a down bad, average joe.

An under-appreciated, goofy college teacher.

Only making $42,000 a year CDN (pre tax).

One day, in class, my students were rating each other on their sexual marketplace value.

“Josh, you’re a hard 7.”

“Connor, you’re a 5 for sure.”

As I marked their homework, I tried to tune them out.

Until one of them rated me…

… “Taylin, I hate to break it to you but you’re a hard 6.”

I laughed, shook it off, and kept marking.

But truthfully, it cut deep.

Because it was true.

I was:

⇢ 20 lbs overweight
⇢ Living with 3 roommates
⇢ Hadn't had a date in over a year
⇢ Suffocating under a mountain of debt
⇢ Drowning my sorrows with nightly Netflix

I was no 10.
Not even a 7.

Dating this version of me was the opposite of a Disney princesses dream.

Confidence? Couldn’t find it.
Dinner dates? Couldn't afford it.
Yearly vacations? Couldn't think of it.

The 'experience of me' was nothing special.

But it was time to change that…

The New Currency Is…

The new currency is not attention. It’s experiences.

Experiences that:

⇢ Define your character
⇢ Alter your perspective
⇢ Give you unique insights to write about

The experiences you have, shape the experience of YOU.

They transform you from a 3, 4, or 6, into an 8+.

(Because let's be real, you're no Zac Efron).

The major turning point of my life was when Dakota Robertson taught me ghostwriting.

It's odd because he didn't have the time to do it.

But he offered to coach me anyways (we'll come back to that in a moment).

And thank god he did.

2 and a half years later, I went from:

⇢ To broke to travel to visiting 11 countries
⇢ $42,000 per year to $500,000 per year
⇢ Doubting my capabilities to finding true confidence
⇢ Being a business novice to being coached by a deca-millionaire
⇢ Binging Netflix to doing Ayahuasca in the Costa Rica jungle

These experiences have shaped my character.
And strengthened my resolve.

They sharpened the 'experience of me.'

No more slouched shoulders.
I now stand up straight with my shoulders back.

All because one jacked Twitter influencer placed a bet on me.

I recently asked him:

Why?

He said, I reminded him of his younger self.

A beaten down, low testosterone dweeb, full of untapped potential.

Turns out being a 6 earned me the opportunity of a lifetime.

And a similar opportunity awaits you as well…

The Experience of YOU

Imagine what the ultimate 'experience of you' would look like.

⇢ If you talked with one of your idols, how would they feel?

⇢ If you took your dream girl on a date, how would she feel?

⇢ If you were the best version of yourself, how would you feel?

Imagine, so clearly, the fully actualized, future version of you.

Living your ideal life.

That is the version of you we are going to create.

And we're going to do it, by making you valuable.

Yes, valuable.

But what does that mean?
And how are we going to do it?

Last April, while visiting Paris, I rented a flat off a friend of a friend.

Halfway through the lease, an opportunity in Spain popped up so I had to leave.

But the landlord was out of town.

And I had to give her the keys.

To avoid hassle on her part, I offered her every solution under the sun.

Including me flying across the country to deliver them.

Unfortunately, she was incapable of compromise.

So I locked the apartment with the keys inside.
And left.

She messaged my friend to say I was a selfish asshole.

Even though I offered many generous compromises.

Did I care?

No.

From my perspective, she is not a kind, virtuous person.

If I was liked by her, I wouldn’t like myself.

And that right there…

… Is the first step to becoming valuable.

Try to be valuable to everyone. You become valuable to no one.

Decide who you want to sing your praise and seek your help.
Then decide the opposite.

Only then can you become something to someone.

Only then can you become valuable…

Becoming Valuable By Doing What They Never Will

Value is your ability to solve meaningful problems for a specific avatar.

⇢ Help women solve their love problems, they will see your value

⇢ Help entrepreneurs solve their money problems, they will see your value

⇢ Help 6's solve their confidence problems, they will see your value

But how do you learn to solve these problems?

You do the one thing most people will never do.

You stack skills.
Yes, skills.

Skills that grant you the power to abolish fears, prevent pain, and offer dreams.

Lucky for you, most people don't have what it takes to do this.

And they never will…

… They’re too afraid to leave their comfort zone.

And too impulsive to practice daily.

They'll never become valuable because they refuse to embrace the experience of hard, boring work, day after day, for years.

Are you starting to see the through line yet?

The most high value skill I learned was writing.

To get half decent, I practiced every day for two years.

This experience sharpened my writing skills.

Making me valuable in the narrow domain of content marketing.

Clients, customers, and community members now pay me to solve their marketing problems.

The 'experience of me' has become a win for them (at least, most of them; I can’t please everyone).

To reiterate:

Experiences create the 'experience of you'.

You become valuable to a specific avatar by stacking skills through study and practice.

But did you notice I said 'skills' and not 'skill'?

Because one skill alone is not enough to become valuable…

The 2 Types of High Value Skills You Need to Learn

Learning to write without learning to network will leave your skill stack like a broke, washed up Snoop Dog.

Half baked.

Do you see what I'm saying?

You can be the best writer. And a piece of shit person.
You can also be the best person. And a piece of shit writer.

Which is why your skills stack needs to include two types of skills:

1) Practical Skills

❖ Sales
❖ Writing
❖ Branding
❖ Marketing
❖ Offer creation

2) Meta Skills

❖ Networking
❖ Confidence
❖ Charisma
❖ Learning
❖ Mindset

Meta skills are the stones that sharpen your axe.

They increase your speed, efficiency, and adaptability.

To become valuable, you must learn both the practical skills to get results.

And the meta skills to accelerate them.

A competent writer who is afraid to publish, will never become valuable to the founder who wants to pay them.

Which is why you need meta skills.

The skills that prevent procrastination and get you in the game.

Without them, you live a regretful life on the side lines.

Forever envious of the brave heroes unafraid to enter the ring.

Self belief is the real precursor to greatness.

It's the ultimate meta skill.

Develop it.

Be bold enough to practice boring tasks for years on end.

Learn a unique combination of both meta and practical skills.

You need both to become valuable.

You need both to turn yourself from a 6 to a 10.

You need both to create the ultimate 'experience of YOU.'

-Taylin John Simmonds

PS. I haven’t published a newsletter in weeks.

Why?

Because traveling back and forth between Europe and the US made keeping up with my work load difficult.

So I waited until this newsletter was good enough to be worth your time to read it.

Other creators say it doesn’t need to be perfect and I should share it anyways.

But I don’t see how sending you a terrible newsletter would benefit you or respect your time.

If you prefer this quality over quantity approach, reply “agree.”

PPS. There’s more “goodies” below ;)

Oh. Are you still hungry?

If your mouth is salivating for more goodies, check out these free courses and cheat sheets (more coming soon):